


Summer Carnival '92

by boco



Category: Homestuck
Genre: F/F, Polyamory, Relationship Problems, Tournaments, not Star Soldier, video games - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-04-22
Updated: 2014-04-22
Packaged: 2018-01-20 09:02:36
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,429
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1504565
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/boco/pseuds/boco
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>You are Porrim Maryam, and for some reason, you are on your way to a gaming tournament.</p><p>Roxy laughs and tucks a stray whorl of hair behind one ear. "What do you mean, you're not sure? You're here to cheer on your totally smoking hot girlfriends who are amazing at video games!"</p><p>"Like, totally killer at video games," Latula Pyrope adds in agreement before popping a high five with the human. "Though Porry and you both know I'm the best of us."</p><p>"Psh, yeah right! Better at Mario maybe, but we're talking Star Soldier baby!"</p><p>"I don't even like Star Soldier," you protest.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Summer Carnival '92

**Author's Note:**

  * For [scrunch](https://archiveofourown.org/users/scrunch/gifts).



"Look, I'm just saying, I'm not sure why I'm here."

You are Porrim Maryam, and for some reason, you are on your way to a gaming tournament.

Roxy Lalonde laughs and tucks a stray whorl of hair behind one ear. "What do you mean, you're not sure? You're here to cheer on your totally smoking hot girlfriends who are _amazing_ at video games!"

"Like, totally _killer_ at video games," Latula Pyrope adds in agreement before popping a high five with the human. "Though Porry and you both know _I'm_ the best of us."

"Psh, yeah right! Better at Mario maybe, but we're talking Star Soldier baby!"

"I don't even _like_ Star Soldier," you protest as you try to decipher the map on the flyer. "I'm not a gamer like you two."

"Sure you are!" Latula interjects, clapping you on the back hard enough to make you wince. "You're like, really good at, what's the one? Tetris?"

"She is pretty good at Tetris," Roxy echoes.

"And the one with the guy? Lode Runner?"

"I think you mean Solomon's Key."

"I don't like Solomon's Key either," you say, flatly. "I only beat it for you that one time because you wouldn't stop whining about how _hard_ it was. This way," you add, leading them down what you hope is the right side street.

"I wasn't–! Okay, fine. But that doesn't make you any less good at them!"

"If I'm going to be called a gamer I'd rather at least be known for games like Dragon Quest or Megami Tensei. The game of that one was almost as good as the novel."

"Yeah, but anybody can beat those! Where's the challenge?"

"You gotta have a little competition in your life!"

You look back down at the flyer in your hand with a sigh. "And that's why you're dragging me to the Carnival?"

"It's only the biggest competitive gaming event of the year!"

"Yeah! Well, except Caravan–"

"Girl, Caravan is _shit_ after they did that baseball game that one year!"

"Ha! You're just mad 'cuz I whopped you at it!"

"Oh yeah, Ms. Super Genius? Just try me at a REAL game and we'll see!"

"You couldn't play a real game if your life depended on it, Lappy!"

"Fuck you, La _lamez_! Come to the arcade and let's hear you say that! I'll one-loop you in any game, any time!

"You are so on, Rope-dope!"

"If you two are done, this is it." You point at the department store across the street and its sign announcing the coming of the 1992 NAXATSOFT & PC ENGINE WORLD TOUR.

"Then what are we waiting for?" Latula pushes past and rushes across the street, as if running a race to the building. Roxy isn't far behind. You take your time to cross and are rewarded for it when Latula's groan follows shortly from her opening the door. Roxy holds it open for you, so you get a good look at why–the line of what must be hundreds of people, stretching from one side of the store to the other and up the staircase. You sigh.

***

The argument only intensifies as you wait in line. The heat wasn't so bad while you were still outside–at least there, there was a breeze–but in here, in a crowded room of what must be six hundred people–the majority of them warm-blooded humans–and no air conditioning, it is downright suffocating. You've already taken off your light summer shawl and tied it to your bag, but trolls like you just weren't meant for so warm an environment, and the noise doesn't help much either. Even after trying to tune everything out with a book, your think pan begins to throb.

A quick glance over at Latula shows she's not faring much better, although she's concentrating more on her escalating shouting match with Roxy. And the pitiable little human herself is shiny with that weirdly transparent human sweat. You can't imagine why they thought this would be fun.

Latula drops to a crouch and starts fishing through her backpack. "Bingo!" she cries as she pulls out a juice box. Roxy holds her hand out, expecting one too, but Latula just shakes her head and grins. "No way, girl! Shoulda been prepared! This is a competition, baybee!"

"What the hell?" the human responds. "Just 'cuz we're competing doesn't mean you have to be a dick. Gimme a juice!"

"Nooope." 'Tula stabs the straw into the box and starts sucking down its cool, sugary contents. "Gotta take every advantage. If it ain't against the rules it's fair game."

" _Weak!_ " The pink-eyed girl turns to you. "Can you believe her? Porrim baby, make her cough it up!"

"No," you say, before turning a page in your novel.

"Haha, see? Po-po's on my side of this one, Laloser!"

"I'm not, really," you add.

"That's totally racist! You two are teaming up on me because I'm human!"

"We're not," you say, but by now it's obvious you're being ignored.

"Why don't we just settle it with a game, then? Whoever gets the best score in the prelim round gets to go on a date with Porrim!"

"You're on!"

You sigh again and slip your book into your bag as the line begins to move quickly. It looks like they've started letting people register, and letting all the pre-regs into the main venue. You're in the mood to blow something up, so you think you'll sign up too. Even if it _is_ Star Soldier.

***

Turns out, the game isn't Star Soldier. Instead, it's a pair of games nobody's ever heard of–because they were developed in secret for this very tournament. The first one up is Recca. A presenter is giving a quick rundown of the game, but you don't catch much–just that everyone will be playing in the two-minute score attack mode. Before you know it, you're whisked off to a line of twenty game stations and given your choice of a paddle or a joystick. You sit, and pull the joystick into your lap, then prepare yourself for what's to come.

First, you take a deep breath and hold it. You don't actually need to breathe, but the feeling of it helps you concentrate as you reach within yourself. A energy pulses within your being, raw and warm like the sun. You carefully lower the cage you've built around it and let it seep through your limbs. Somewhere distant from you, the announcer is counting down. When the moment is right, you exhale, and the game begins.

As your fingers lightly dance over the controls, a frown tugs the edge of your mouth. No, this won't do at all: your ship is moving much too slow. Even if this game wasn't Star Soldier, it probably used the same kind of controls... what was it again? Ah, yes, the select button. A quick glance down at the controller reveals where the elusive key hides and you tap it twice. Now even a gentle shift of the joystick sends your ship flying over a quarter of the screen. A few figure eights later and you're quite comfortable with how the ship moves. None of the other buttons seem to react just yet, so you move your attention elsewhere. You settle your eyes on the score counter in the corner and let the field of play stay in your periphery for now. If there's one thing you've heard from Roxy, it's that there's a trick to every game. If you want to get a high score, you'll need to suss it out.

Six seconds in, the first wave of enemies approaches. A tap of 'A' sends your main shot towards them–a bomb that clears half the screen. You note with some small satisfaction that holding the button sends a continuous stream of smaller bullets after the initial explosion–no need for the hand-cramping 'rapid fire' like in Star Soldier–but your frown returns when you note the score counter no longer increasing continuously as it had before. Experimentally, you release the fire button–ah, there it goes. It seems whenever you don't attack, your score builds, and when you finally choose to unleash your shot, its area of effect is multiplied. So the first trick is to attack as late as you can, and as little as possible?

Clearing the first few waves spawns a handful of pickups scattered across the screen. One, you note, has a letter in it which changes every half second or so. You know the strategy here from watching 'Tula play games like this–pick a weapon and stick with it–so you choose at random and grab it after it cycles to V. The second group of enemies drop one pickup apiece so the screen is clogged with them. Noting the momentary lag as the game struggles to keep up, you sweep them up as quick as you can to restore the game to its full speed. You decide that's trick number two–grab pickups as soon as possible to reduce the number of objects on screen, hesitating only for the lettered ones to make sure they match.

Trick three reveals itself a few seconds later, when a larger enemy fires a barrage of missiles. Your bomb absorbs the enemy shots, rewarding you with points as if each were a downed foe. Even with your enhanced senses and reaction time, more than a dozen slip by. It can't be helped; if you knew exactly where the ships would be and when they'd shoot, it'd still be nigh impossible to catch everything. The frustrated moans you hear from both sides inform you that not everyone figured this part out. Your confidence rises, and a little bit of your inner light heats through your face as you ride the ever-faster waves of tension the game throws at you.

Another minute in, and the level abruptly cuts away as the boss approaches. You bomb it and calmly focus fire; its second laser barrage barely misses you to either side, but you take it down and the level background returns with only 7 seconds left on the timer. Two more waves of enemies and–

You shake your head a bit, then set the joystick back on the table. 413,612 points. You have no idea if that's a good score or a bad one. Although your Rainbow Drinker enhanced reflexes carried you through, your inexperience with this style of game caused you to miss multiple entire waves of enemy targets about halfway through, and you _did_ mess up and change weapons– _twice_. You're surprised you made it through the whole two minutes without dying, and you're sure you missed another trick in there somewhere.

A quick glance to the screens on either side and–what, 225,000? 170,000? Why so low?

"Po-Mary! 413k? You're in top three! Give it here, girl!" Latula almost tackles you from behind. You manage to shake her most of the way off and stand up to face the two.

Wait– _top three?_ "What about you two?"

"Eh, I did alright," Roxy says, shaking out her hand as if she'd been already playing for hours. "370k."

"355k here. Ro-Lal totally schooled me."

"Hm." You pick your bag up from the floor and fish out your compact to check your makeup. Looks like the faint glow from exercising your Rainbow Drinker heritage has passed and you're back to your normal self. Also, you too are smoking hot, as usual.

"So next up is Alzadick–" Roxy starts.

"Don't care," you say quickly, cutting her off. "I'm gonna lose the crowd, catch some sun while I still can."

"–don't care? Whoa, whoa, hold up. You're ditchin' the carnival?" Latula's disappointment is clear, but this is exactly the situation you were hoping for.

"You remember the bet?" you say. "Whoever gets the best score gets a date with me?"

"Yeah, but–"

"Well, _I_ got the best score. And _my_ idea of a date isn't sitting around on the third floor of a department store with 600 other people and no air conditioning."

"Hey, that's not fair!" Roxy shouts after you as you're already walking away.

"Not fair?" You turn back, and advance on the two, punctuating your sentences with your sharp, well-manicured nails, just to make sure your words sink in. "No, not _fair_ is making this some stupid competition between yourselves with me as a _prize_. I came here to have fun. I don't know what kind of problem you two have with each other, but I'm your matesprit, not your auspistice, so it's not my job to care. I played by your stupid rules, I _won_ , now I'm taking the prize out on a date." You're already choosing between two nearby cafes as you turn and walk away once more. "Work out your issues on your own."

***

It's a good two hours later when the two of them track you down. You'd almost finished your novel and were contemplating going back to the Carnival to watch the finals, but...

"Hey beautiful," Roxy says, as she plops into the chair next to you. Latula follows on the other side.

"What happened? I thought you still had at least an hour to go?"

"We got dropped in round three," Latula clarifies, and sets three consolation prize giftbags onto the table.

"Alzadick sucked alzadicks, by the way. So boring."

"And then the 5-minute mode for Recca killed both of us. Like, literally, game overs before time out." Latula takes her shades off to rub at her glance nuggets. "We played like a bunch of wigglers."

"We got _beat_ by a bunch of wigglers," Roxy continues, shaking her head. "Juniors division had 10 people make sub 4-minute times, and open division only had 7, even if they took top-16 from both into round four."

"–anyway, we got you something." She motions to one of the bags a bag on the table, and you take a peek inside.

"...a copy of Recca?"

"Hey, it's not Star Soldier, right? And you're better at it than we are, so we thought you deserved it."

"...and something else." You pull out the first box and see two more. "Bomberman II? And a multitap?"

"It's got a single-player puzzle mode like you like," Roxy fills in.

"And when we're all together it's got a 3-player versus mode too!" Latula adds.

"Hm," you say, and slip the three back into the bag. "It'll do."

"And– one more thing."

You look up at them.

"We're sorry," they say in unison.

**Author's Note:**

> By the way, Recca is available on the Nintendo 3DS eShop! But be warned, it's pretty hard!


End file.
